


Through Inhibitions Lie

by bidness



Series: Flufftober 2020 [6]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: 1x06, Canon Compliant, Drinking, Fluff, Flufftober, Inebriated Alec Lightwood, M/M, POV Magnus Bane, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26936023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bidness/pseuds/bidness
Summary: “Alright, let’s get you sobered,” Magnus offers with a knowing look.When he moves to reach for the glass however, Alec turns away in a sloppy motion that spills drops of liquor onto the black jeans he wears. The protest of disbelief is on Magnus’ tongue, quick to chide Alec of being careful lest he wants to reek of vodka by the end of the night, but then the Shadowhunter is lifting the glass to his lips and drinking, downing the martini in one go.And through the grimace, he laughs. Loud, boisterous, surprising.Flufftober Prompt: Laughter
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Flufftober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948843
Comments: 18
Kudos: 108
Collections: Fluff vs. Angst Battle 2020





	Through Inhibitions Lie

**Author's Note:**

> Set in 1x06 where _'Magnus made cocktails'_ and Alec stayed the night.

Magnus has lived for centuries. He’s seen the rise and fall of great men and women, has dined and bedded royalty in the secret of the night to averted eyes and those curious enough to peek through the locks. He’s traveled the world as it was being discovered, across seas and mountains, he’s heard the rush of the wind whirl past his ears in the solitary acres of great plains. 

How many symphonies has he witnessed? How many more has he inspired? Tchaikovsky in his prime, and Magnus remembers it all, can hear it even now the chaos of the orchestra that flows in time with rapid beats. Concertos with the swell of violins an eerie melody of the times that stroked to life the appreciation in him. 

So why is it that after all of these incredible moments that cultivate his life, all these great wonders and achievements and fantastical conquers, the melody that gets his heart pulsing now is the low, full-bodied rumble of Alexander Lightwood’s musical laugh?

The Shadowhunter sits in front of him, loose limbs and the lazy smile of residual laughter. The martini in his hand is clearer than the fog that glazes his drooping hazel eyes with an inebriated shine, and the features of his face smooth with youthful wonder as he scouts the room before him, Magnus’ living room. Magnus wants to sit closer, wants to gesture to the window where the view of New York twinkles out below them as a distraction he can cover up with, but he’s never been one to take advantage when all rationality is naught. 

“I don’t even know them, _any of them,_ ” Alec slurs his woes out from an exhausting day, composed by any Mundane standards. “The red-head just showed up one day and-” Hands lift, swooping wide in a grand gesture that’s supposed to produce exactly the right explanation, but all it does is make Magnus wary of the eager liquid swirling about Alec’s glass.

“Alright, let’s get you sobered,” Magnus offers with a knowing look.

When he moves to reach for the glass however, Alec turns away in a sloppy motion that spills drops of liquor onto the black jeans he wears. The protest of disbelief is on Magnus’ tongue, quick to chide Alec of being careful lest he wants to reek of vodka by the end of the night, but then the Shadowhunter is lifting the glass to his lips and drinking, downing the martini in one go.

And through the grimace, he laughs. Loud, boisterous, surprising.

Not surprising to Magnus (at least not much, because though he knows little about the young Shadowhunter, he’s had the pleasure of being graced by flustered smiles however sparsely between the stoic demeanor he presents), but to himself it seems, because Alec turns wide, abashed eyes to Magnus. He wonders if anyone else has ever heard this laugh before, the sound of freedom from thoughts and inhibitions that hinder, the laugh of repression broken. 

“Sorry, I don’t usually get like this,” Alec whispers, voice intoned in all the wrong spots, but the indication clear enough for Magnus to gather it’s meaning. 

“You don’t have to apologize, Alexander.” If Alec’s eyes narrow at him just slightly with thinly veiled lust that he must not even know he displays so openly at the mention of his name said in full, Magnus pretends not to notice it. It’s the liquor talking, and as much as Magnus would love to be on the receiving end of it during the bright of day when Alec is cognizant of his actions, he isn’t an irresponsible asshole. “You never have to hide yourself from me. I won’t judge.”

And how many years has Magnus seen the sunlight through dust, long and weary after battle with his saving grace being the dawn of a new day? How many sunrises from the tallest buildings with resplendent views of grand cities has he witnessed in his long life? How many times has he fallen heart-first into new loves, no holds barred and everything risked on a frivolous chance at happiness? All these mementos in his mind sewn so deeply, ingrained with the nuanced embroidery of marvels and mistakes, yet none of them hold a candle to the slow-creeping smile that lifts the corner of Alec’s lips. None of it prepares him from this moment in time, where martini-in-hand Alexander Gideon Lightwood, son and descendant of Shadowhunters bred and brainwashed to hate people like him, offers the brilliance of innocence and all of the world in one earth-shattering smile.

The click of a lock, a long buried chest of hope deep within that falls apart at the hinges. An awakening to opportunities, bountiful right before his very eyes in the shape of this Shadowhunter with the smile to melt the glacier that weighs heavy on his ribs. Magnus must be more drunk than he thought.

“I don’t think all Downworlders are bad, y’know,” Alec whispers in quiet sincerity, the tapping of his fingers against the empty glass in his hands a poor attempt to shift focus. He speaks as if he’s been hard-wired to believe that thoughts such as those are bad. Maybe he has.

“Glad to hear you don’t let your impressions of my dear friend Raphael speak for all of us,” Magnus quips, an endeavor he suspects will lighten the mood. A second to remember, and then it must work, because he’s rewarded with another laugh. Less raucous and more self-aware, but not disingenuous.

It stirs something in him, that laugh. It slithers through, a sneaky reminder of the capacity of his heart and for just how long it’s been kept guarded. Every crevice, every corner, all these dark sides of him brought to life, spun around and made anew with every moment that Alec flutters his sinfully long lashes in his direction. And when Alec laughs again, drunk and heavy-lidded with his body leaning towards him, Magnus’ heart sings a faint soprano that says ‘ _yes, this is the one_.’

It’s then that Magnus decides he wants to spend the rest of Alexander Gideon Lightwood’s life discovering each and every laugh he’ll willingly give him. Laughter echoed soft and hushed between two pairs of lips in the heat of passion. Polite laughter in the presence of importance, courteous, genteel and nothing more. Laughter that brings tears, humorous and open and only for those he deems loved ones. 

Magnus is ready for it all. Now all he needs is Alexander to be ready, too.

**Author's Note:**

> I really had fun writing this, it just kinda flowed and had a mind of it's own. Leave a kudos/comment if you enjoyed it! 
> 
> Come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://bidnezz.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/bidnesszzz)! I'd love to hear from you!
> 
> If you're interested in submitting your fluff fics (pls) to the [Fluff vs. Angst Battle 2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/FluffvsAngstBattle2020/profile), feel free to do so, we could use more fics!!!


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